Friends of the Maui Drug Court awarded $24,000 grant by Office of Hawaiian Affairs

For Immediate Release:

January 26, 2009

Contact:

Friends of the Maui Drug Court

808.276.3488

friendsmauidrugcourt@gmail.com

Friends of the Maui Drug Court awarded $24,000 grant by Office of Hawaiian Affairs

KAHULUI, Hawai`i – Friends of the Maui Drug Court has been awarded a $24,000 grant from Office of Hawaiian Affairs, FMDC President S. Larry Schlesinger, M.D., announced today.

The funding will allow FMDC to provide services such as child care, dental treatment and medical exams to Maui/Moloka`i Drug Court clients. Approximately 60 percent of Drug Court clients are native Hawaiian.

OHA's grant will also facilitate training for Drug Court professionals, funding of an executive director position and research on Drug Court graduates' recidivism rates. The grant period runs from Feb. 1, 2009 to Jan. 31, 2010.

"This is OHA's first grant to Friends of the Maui Drug Court, and we look forward to our new partnership," Schlesinger said. "We commend the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for its progressive thinking and its major backing of the Drug Court's important work to break the cycle of substance abuse and crime in Maui County."

The Maui/Molokai Drug Court provides a range of intervention, treatment and prevention programs with the goal of reducing the devastating impact of substance abuse on Maui County's families and community resources. Drug Court provides non-violent offenders an opportunity to avoid or minimize incarceration upon completion of an intensive, judicially supervised substance abuse treatment program.

Since the Maui/Moloka`i Drug Court began accepting clients under the leadership of Judge Shackley F. Raffetto more than eight years ago, FMDC has provided critical support to the program, including by funding milestone awards and graduation ceremonies.

Nearly 300 former defendants have graduated from the Maui/Moloka`i Drug Court. The most recent graduation ceremony was conducted on Maui on Jan. 22. A graduation ceremony is scheduled on Moloka`i today.

Last year, FMDC commenced a program to provide child care services, allowing Drug Court clients to attend necessary meetings. FMDC is also planning to make available dental services via Maui Oral Health Center and local dentists, while also providing physical exams to Drug Court clients.

The grant is provided through the OHA Community Grants Program, which assists community-based organizations working to address the needs of the Hawaiian community. More information about the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is available at http://oha.org/. More information about Friends of the Maui Drug Court and the Maui/Moloka`i Drug Court is available at http://mauidrugcourt.info/.

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